REVIEW: 4 OUT OF 4 STARS

"Beauty and the Beast"Highlight: “Be Our Guest,” “Beauty and the Beast.”Low point: A tiny quibble: The sets were spectacular, but the set design for the library scene was somehow left wanting.Length: Two-and-a-half-hours, with one 15-minute intermission.See it: Through Sunday at DeVos Performance Hall, 303 Monroe Ave. NW, $32-$72, Broadway Grand Rapids, (235-6285), DeVos Place box office, Ticketmaster outlets, 800-745-3000, ticketmaster.com.

GRAND RAPIDS, MI — The Beast knows the way to a girl’s heart is through the books and stories she loves, and on opening night of the national tour of Broadway Grand Rapids' presentation of “Beauty and the Beast,” a full house of hearts was won by a story that enthralled and enchanted.

This presentation is a victory of set, costume, sound and lighting design, not to mention a winning display of acting, singing and dancing.

Before the wonderful cast has a chance to hook one, the jaw-dropping sets already have captivated and wowed. Opulent, multi-layered scaffolding givs the illusion of being inside a color-drenched pop-up storybook come to life. In the Beast’s castle, a darker set takes center stage, with heavy fringed draperies ripped artfully as though by the savage master’s claws.

One of my favorite special effects was that of Chip, the slightly broken teacup/boy. Every time Mrs. Potts (Erin Edelle) rolled the tea cart bearing her boy/cup on it, I tried to figure out how they made it look like he was a disembodied head. However they pulled it off, it was pure magic to watch.

The wardrobe, Madame de la Grande Bouche (Shani Hadjian) was also a marvel, and gave new meaning to the term shopping in your own closet. Hadjian provided lots of laughs with her spot-on comic timing and was a highlight in a shimmering show full of them.

Another bright light: Lumiere (Hassan Nazari-Robati), the very flirty Frenchman with panache and va-va-voom to spare.

Of course, everyone knows Gaston (Joe Hager) is the funniest, even if he’s not in on the joke. As the preening, insufferable buffoon who imagines himself irresistible, Hager’s incredibly expressive face and body (even his biceps “acted”) were mesmerizing to watch.

As the romantic leads in this "Tale As Old As Time," Belle (Hilary Maiberger) and the Beast (Darick Pead) led the sterling cast superbly, their vocals soaring, their acting precise, empathetic and pitch perfect.

Maiberger’s voice was as clean and bright as the fresh snow outside, and her effortless blend of innocent ingénue and tough cookie fit the beloved Belle like a glove.

Pead was all crouching, animal energy for much of the musical, until his transformation begins and he softens, his true nature coming through his ugly façade.

All of this was splendid, and I was so glad I brought my mother and my daughter, both as enchanted as I was.

But for me, the most shining moment came at the encore, when the ensemble came out to take a bow. The look on the face of Grand Rapids’ own Brian Martin, who was terrific as an ensemble member, as he beamed at friends and family and theater friends who came out to cheer him on? That was the most charmed moment of them all.